The sports complex hasn't opened yet, and it's already taking bookings.

Instead of a WhatsApp diary from day one, a site where people pick a slot, pay and confirm from their phone. Built before there were any doors to open.

3steps to bookbefore: ~~8 manual steps~~
0times the venue has to step in to take a booking

Status: In progress · V1
Website: mestalla.cl ↗

Las dos canchas de pasto natural al atardecer, vistas desde la terraza.

What was the problem?

The process that had to go.

“Setting up Saturday's match takes eight messages, and sometimes two groups still end up on the same pitch.”

Every booking lived inside WhatsApp. Nobody could see which times were free, nobody could book on their own, and there was no tidy record: each booking was a full conversation that someone had to handle.

Every single time

01The customer writes in to ask if there's a free slot.
02The manager checks by hand which times are taken.
03He replies with the free times.
04The customer picks a time.
05They agree on payment by bank transfer.
06The customer sends the receipt.
07The manager checks the payment.
08The booking gets written down in a calendar or a notebook.

What kept breaking

Lots of time spent answering the same messages over and over.
Transfer receipts checked one at a time.
Slow booking confirmations.
Customers who gave up because nobody answered in time.
No tidy record of which times were taken.

What was decided?

The decision.Anyone should be able to see what's really free, pick a slot, pay and have the booking confirmed from their phone, without anyone at the complex stepping in.

The manager stops being the bottleneck: instead of handling every booking, he checks the receipt and keeps an eye on how full the pitches are. Eight manual steps become three steps for the customer.

What I ruled out, and why

~~Waiting for the complex to open before launching~~
The site can take bookings and payments before the complex opens. Waiting meant losing those months.

What was built?

What was built.Each piece removes a problem.

Home page

Booking is the first thing you can do, not a contact detail at the end of the page.

1
The promise is time
Not “book your pitch”, but “in minutes”. The benefit, not the action.
2
The account, on the first screen
You sign in with Google. No account means no booking, and no booking means nobody to tell when it opens.

Before opening

The complex hasn't opened yet and the site is already working: it signs up the first teams and builds the list it will open with.

1
A countdown, not “coming soon”
Days, hours, minutes and seconds until opening. A date that keeps ticking pushes people to decide today.

What sets it apart

What makes people pick one venue over another is the pitch, and it's said in four words, not three paragraphs.

1
Four reasons, not a paragraph
Natural grass, constant upkeep, sprinklers and drainage. That's what sets this pitch apart from the one next door.

All included

The six questions a team captain asks on WhatsApp before renting, answered on a single screen.

1
What's included, listed out
For 22 players, 90 minutes, changing rooms and showers, parking, a social area. The usual questions, answered before they're asked.

Real availability, slot by slotWhat it removes
The “do you have a slot on Saturday?” message and the reply typed by hand. The calendar marks each day as free, partly booked, full or with no times.
Booking in three steps, with the pitch assigned on its ownWhat it removes
The back-and-forth, message by message, and the calendar filled in by hand. The site gives you the first free pitch, so two groups can't end up at the same time.
A private “My Bookings” areaWhat it removes
Not knowing for sure what you booked, and the messages asking to confirm it.
Sign in with your Google accountWhat it removes
The long sign-up form, right at the moment people are most ready to book.

What happens on its own

Slots of 1 h 30, priced by time of day: $110,000 without lights and $130,000 with lights.
The site assigns the first free pitch: nobody chooses, and that's why two groups never clash.
The time is held for 10 minutes while the customer pays.
Customers can ask for changes themselves up to 48 hours before.
Weather cancellations are announced ahead of time so a new date can be set.
Room for brands that want to sponsor from day one.
WhatsApp is for questions, not for booking.

What changed?